Jan 6, 2020, 1:19 pm
Last edit by: rrgg
Please read: This is a community-maintained wiki post containing the most important information from this thread. You may edit the Wiki once you have been on FT for 90 days and have made 90 posts.
Reminder: you must enroll and select your airline BEFORE making a reimbursable purchase. http://www.americanexpress.com/airlinechoice -or- "Call the number on the back of your Card to select a qualifying airline."
Credit posting delays range from several business days (typical) to several weeks (seen in Oct 2015). The T&Cs state that it could take up to four weeks, so wait at least that long before worrying, and certainly don't contact Amex prematurely
Caution: effective from 22 June 2019, gift card purchases from Delta do not get reimbursed.
Read this primer first
Additional Collections/Split Tender -- THIS IS A LOOPHOLE. BE DISCREET
Quote:
TL;DR: Anything coded as an additional collection (a.k.a. add/collect or a/c), including difference in fare when changing flights,and accepting an FCM offer, also triggers the credit and will be reimbursed, provided that the amount charged to your card is $250 or less (regardless of card type, e.g. there have been reports of full $100 credit for Gold card on a/c over $100 and full $200 credit for Plat on a/c over $200, but always $250 or less)
How to do it: With waived fee for cancellation/changes on non-refundable tickets (due to COVID-19) you get an eCredit when cancelling it, so you can:
Paying for a ticket partially with SkyMiles
NOTE that DL has two different programs for partially paying with SkyMiles, that seem superficially similar, but are quite different
other non Gift Card options
these may not credit automatically, but people have had success getting them processed manually after the fact
(DEAD) eGift Card (eCert) details
Reminder: you must enroll and select your airline BEFORE making a reimbursable purchase. http://www.americanexpress.com/airlinechoice -or- "Call the number on the back of your Card to select a qualifying airline."
Credit posting delays range from several business days (typical) to several weeks (seen in Oct 2015). The T&Cs state that it could take up to four weeks, so wait at least that long before worrying, and certainly don't contact Amex prematurely
Caution: effective from 22 June 2019, gift card purchases from Delta do not get reimbursed.
Read this primer first
- In the Amex Membership Rewards family, both the Consumer and Business versions of the Platinum and Centurion cards qualify for a $200 airline credit. The Premier Rewards Gold (PRG) card is eligible for a $100 airline credit (the Gold credit is going away in 2022). Hilton Aspire AMEX is eligible for a $250 airline credit.
- You must click here to select Delta as your enrolled airline before you make a reimbursable purchase, else the benefit won't apply. The feature is activated immediately upon airline designation.
- If you've selected DL in the past and don't wish to change airlines, there's no need to select again; current selection rolls into future years until modified.
- The T&Cs state the eligible charges, but YMMV, so don't call and ask especially about the fuzzier cases below because that will probably hasten closing of any loopholes.
- The credit is per account, not per card. If the main account has authorized users with additional cards, eligible charges may still be made on those cards, but they'll count jointly towards the same account limit.
- Credits are capped per calendar year, meaning you could tap the full amount on Dec 31st and again on Jan 1st in the extreme. Transaction date, not posting date, determines the year. Note: This is not my experience. I purchased Dec 31, 2016, posted Jan 1, 2017 and went against my 2017 credit. (TheMadBrewer)
- You will get a partial credit to bring your total annual reimbursements to the limit exactly if a qualifying charge takes you past the limit.
- After four weeks, if you've read this Wiki carefully and posted here seeking assistance but the credit still has not arrived, consider chatting with Amex online. Politely mention the "Delta extras" you thought would be reimbursed within four weeks and they'll handle it.
Additional Collections/Split Tender -- THIS IS A LOOPHOLE. BE DISCREET
Quote:
TL;DR: Anything coded as an additional collection (a.k.a. add/collect or a/c), including difference in fare when changing flights,
How to do it: With waived fee for cancellation/changes on non-refundable tickets (due to COVID-19) you get an eCredit when cancelling it, so you can:
- Buy a non-refundable ticket with any combination of gift card/eCredit plus your AMEX, again provided that the residual amount charged to your card is $250 or less
- After credit has posted, and at least 48 hours after buying it, cancel it (ensure there's no fee for cancelling it) so you get an updated eCredit for the full ticket amount.
- alternatively, if you buy a ticket far enough in the future, there is no particular need to cancel the ticket, just change it once you have some new dates or itinerary in mind (you can change origin, destination or both)
- however, note that the waiver of change fees on Basic Economy tickets is ending: https://www.delta.com/us/en/travel-p...sbeforeapril30
- thus you should use main cabin tickets for this purpose (assuming DL does not extend the BE policy due to omicron etc.)
- You can even use the result of (2) as an eCredit to repeat step 1 with a different AMEX card if you have multiples. Note that in this context, changing an unflown future ticket is exactly equivalent to an eCredit in the amount of the ticket's value.
- Relevantly, split tender where you partially pay with a gift card, existing credit, VDB voucher etc. and partly charged to your card, are processed by DL as an add/collect and trigger the credit per above.
- Thus if you anticipate actually buying, say, a $200 DL ticket, you could buy a single $50 gift card, then buy the ticket using $50 GC and $150 on your card (the $150 will be reimbursed). This is just an example; as per the previous bullet there is no reason it needs to be specifically $50, or even a gift card. The "additional collection" is what leads to the credit, the reason why it is "additional" is unimportant.
- In general, only additional collections less than ~$250 are automatically reimbursed. If you use a $50 gift card to buy a $500 ticket, a $450 additional collection will be generated but it will not be auto-reimbursed by Amex.
- If you already have gift cards or ecredits in particular denominations that don't line up well with the price of the ticket you want to buy (additional collection will end up being too much to get auto-reimbursed or too little to efficiently use up the fee credit), consider whether you may be able to reach a better outcome by splitting up the purchase -- buying a round trip as two one ways or buying multiple passengers separately. But, note that buying 2 one-ways instead of a round trip can sometimes cost more, making it not worthwhile, and note the caveats about multiple passenger purchases below, as well as considering the risk that buying 2 passengers separately can have negative implications for Medallion upgrades (if applicable) as well as creating the risk that you are separated from your travel companions if there is a flight cancellation.
- The "additional collection" transaction notation shows up after the transaction posts, on the website only (both desktop and mobile) if you click into a transaction to view the details (it does not appear in the app, or while the purchase is pending)
- Note that special care is needed when booking tickets for 2 or more people in a single transaction.
- When booking multiple people in a single transaction on Delta.com, each person's ticket charges to the credit card in a separate transaction, and gift cards are used starting with the first ticket until they are exhausted. So for example if you were booking 2x $210 tickets, for a total transaction of $420, if you used a $200 gift card the charges would post to Amex as a $10 additional collection on the first person and a $210 regular ticket charge for the second person, resulting in only a $10 reimbursement. For the same two tickets if you used a $220 gift card, the first person would be covered entirely by the gift card and the second person's ticket would charge as a $190 additional collection, resulting in a $190 reimbursement.
- This would work differently if ecredits are used instead of gift cards since ecredits are not transferrable -- ecredits can only be applied to a ticket for a person whose name is on the ecredit; if other people are booked in the same transaction, any leftover ecredit balance will *not* be applied to those other people.
- Canceling a ticket within the 24-hour[1] risk-free period generally results in funds being returned to where they came from (GC back to GC and CC back to CC) even if the ticket is non-refundable; also, Delta interprets the 24-hour risk free cancellation period generously -- you actually have until midnight of the day following the day of booking (in which time zone is oft-speculated but unclear). Thus, this can work out to nearly 48 hours if the timing is exactly right. Hence the suggestion above to cancel only after 48 hours, or avoid canceling altogether.
- Caution when buying multiple tickets in a single transaction: for example if you buy two $125 tickets in one transaction (total $250) and use one $100 GC or even two $50 GCs, they will all be applied to the same ticket and you would see one additional collection for $25 on that ticket and a separate "normal" charge for $125 for the second ticket. In this scenario only $25 will be reimbursed (instead of the $150 you might be expecting). In this situation you would need to book the two tickets separately to get the credit on each one.
- FCM offers may require accepting for the entire trip (vs just one segment) or calling in to up-fare the whole trip (please post data points either way)
Paying for a ticket partially with SkyMiles
NOTE that DL has two different programs for partially paying with SkyMiles, that seem superficially similar, but are quite different
- Pay With Miles is a feature available to DL-branded AMEX cardholders that lets you pay for part of your ticket using SkyMiles in increments of 5,000 miles = $50. If you use PWM then the remaining amount charged to your card posts as additional collection and will qualify for the fee credit (multiple data points)
- Miles + Cash is like buying an award ticket but using cash to substitute for some of the miles. As an example, you might be offered a ticket for 40,000 miles + $5.60, or 30,000 miles + $205.60 (these numbers are made up). If you choose the latter option what you are really doing is buying 10,000 miles for $200, then using those 10,000 miles plus 30,000 that you already had to buy the 40,000 ticket + $5.60 in taxes. This will post as two separate transactions, $200 for the miles purchase, and $5.60 for the taxes on the award ticket. The $5.60 will be reimbursed (just like any other award ticket). The $200 seems like it does not get automatically reimbursed, although it may post as "Frequent Flyer Fee/Purchase" in which case you have a pretty good case for getting it credited manually by contacting AMEX.
- Note: Miles + Cash is usually a terrible value (even for SkyMiles)
- See the list of FAQs at the bottom of the "Pay With Miles" page for more info (search in particular for "What is the difference between Pay with Miles and Miles + Cash?")
other non Gift Card options
- baggage and other service fees (same day change/standby, change fees, etc.)
- taxes on award flights (including the $5.60 September 11 security fee)
- in-flight purchases (EXCEPT wifi) -- although currently nothing available due to COVID?
- SkyClub access/guest fees (but NOT gift cards purchased at a SC, which are actually activated at a 3rd party web site)
mileage boosts (post 2499)trip extras have been discontinuedThe $59 for Delta Skymiles Select is reimbursed (posts 2180, 2182)SkyMiles Select is no longer available for purchase
these may not credit automatically, but people have had success getting them processed manually after the fact
- seat purchase fees (if you buy an upgrade and it does not credit automatically and you call in, do not call it an upgrade, call it a seat purchase/assignment fee)
- premium beverages purchased in the Sky Club (post 462)
(DEAD) eGift Card (eCert) details
- gift cards have not worked since 2019/06/22 and this section has been removed to save space. See the 2015-2019 version of this thread for historical details.
Airline fee $250/$200/$100 reimbursement reports: DL only (2020-21)
Jan 17, 2020, 12:40 am
#211
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Seattle
Programs: Delta PM, Alaska MVP, AMEX Plat (MR), AMEX Delta Platinum
Posts: 56
Booked an $1191.95 ticket, used $1000 Gift Card and charged $91.95 to AMEX Platinum. 2 days later $91.95 credit posted and meter moved - $108.05 left to use - will try on my next flight purchase.
Looks like the Additional Collection is working as long as it's under a certain threshold ($250 is what I have heard)
Looks like the Additional Collection is working as long as it's under a certain threshold ($250 is what I have heard)
Jan 17, 2020, 5:44 am
#212
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 69
Super easy one for me here...
1/13 - Purchased a 259.96 USD OW , used 50 USD GC, 209.96 Charged to AXPL
1/14 - Pending
1/15 - Posted as Additional Collection
1/16 - Meter Moved
1/17 - 200 USD Reinbursed
1/13 - Purchased another 222 USD OW , Pay with points 5K Skymiles (50 USD), 172 Charged to AXPL Business
1/14 - Pending
1/15 - Posted as Additional Collection
1/16 - Meter Moved
1/17 - 172 USD Reinbursed
Voila - It works !
1/13 - Purchased a 259.96 USD OW , used 50 USD GC, 209.96 Charged to AXPL
1/14 - Pending
1/15 - Posted as Additional Collection
1/16 - Meter Moved
1/17 - 200 USD Reinbursed
1/13 - Purchased another 222 USD OW , Pay with points 5K Skymiles (50 USD), 172 Charged to AXPL Business
1/14 - Pending
1/15 - Posted as Additional Collection
1/16 - Meter Moved
1/17 - 172 USD Reinbursed
Voila - It works !
Jan 17, 2020, 11:32 am
#213
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 10
DP
Purchased airfare end of last year using GC and then CC strategy.
~ $310 Coded as supplemental payment.
Credit did not post.
A polite and appropriate call (charges were for “seat assignments, no demanding, politely inquiring, etc) and CS manually applied the $142 worth of credit that should have posted, making sure it didn’t come out of this years $200.
Maybe another do that over $250 doesn’t auto credit ?
Purchased airfare end of last year using GC and then CC strategy.
~ $310 Coded as supplemental payment.
Credit did not post.
A polite and appropriate call (charges were for “seat assignments, no demanding, politely inquiring, etc) and CS manually applied the $142 worth of credit that should have posted, making sure it didn’t come out of this years $200.
Maybe another do that over $250 doesn’t auto credit ?
Jan 17, 2020, 12:28 pm
#214
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: YCD
Programs: AC 75K, HIlton Honors Gold, Marriott Gold Elite, Radisson Rewards Gold
Posts: 513
I was trying to upgrade an existing flight from Main to Business to try to trigger the Airline credt - the total cost is $218 USD and I wanted to utilize an existing $50 gift card but it looks like I can't use a gift card for this type of upgrade - only a single Credit Card...is this correct?
Jan 17, 2020, 12:34 pm
#215
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,959
eGifts and Cards may only be redeemed toward the total purchase price of air transportation, including taxes, fees, and surcharges imposed on the air transportation (excluding any cash portion of an Award or Miles + Cash Ticket). They may not be used for any additional fees (including baggage fees) or for any other products or services (including class upgrades, in-flight purchases, premium seating, mileage booster, SkyMiles Cruises, cargo, hotel stays, or car rentals).
Jan 17, 2020, 12:44 pm
#216
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: YCD
Programs: AC 75K, HIlton Honors Gold, Marriott Gold Elite, Radisson Rewards Gold
Posts: 513
Jan 17, 2020, 4:14 pm
#217
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1
Did something dumb and booked a $200 flight with $50 GC and $150 on Gold BEFORE I had enrolled in Delta as my airline benefit. Quickly cancelled the flight, enrolled in Delta, and then booked the same trip again.
Guess my question is... Delta is supposed to issue me a $150 refund for the cancellation -- will Amex KNOW which of the $150 charges that refund applies to? Right now I have two identical $150 charges listed as PENDING in my statement, one from before I enrolled and one from after I enrolled. Cancellation refund hasn't showed up yet. I'd hate if Amex applied the $150 refund to the wrong charge, and it didn't move the needle...
Guess my question is... Delta is supposed to issue me a $150 refund for the cancellation -- will Amex KNOW which of the $150 charges that refund applies to? Right now I have two identical $150 charges listed as PENDING in my statement, one from before I enrolled and one from after I enrolled. Cancellation refund hasn't showed up yet. I'd hate if Amex applied the $150 refund to the wrong charge, and it didn't move the needle...
Jan 17, 2020, 6:55 pm
#218
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Santa Barbara, CA, Park City, UT
Programs: AA EXP, Delta Plat, Marriott Plat,Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Plat
Posts: 902
OfficeMax/Depot always has Delta GCs so probably I’ll get those in $50 increments for 5x with the Chase Ink(older version). Quicker as I hear 72 hrs on e gift cards. I’m assuming this would not throw things off versus a Delta purchase card....hell, maybe a $50 Visa gift card would work as well.....I didn’t hear anything about using those. Anyone know? I don’t see why it would matter but maybe...
Do AMEX plat cards earn 5x for direct GC purchase from Delta? Not sure how their coded
Do AMEX plat cards earn 5x for direct GC purchase from Delta? Not sure how their coded
Jan 17, 2020, 8:13 pm
#219
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 18,947
"... there is no reason it needs to be specifically $50, or even a gift card. The "additional collection" is what leads to the credit, the reason why it is "additional" is unimportant."
The only difference would be that you can apply a DL-branded GC + CC online. Visa gift card + other CC will probably require calling in.
Jan 18, 2020, 12:07 pm
#220
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 998
This might not work any more.
I bought a refundable flight for $267 and at check out applied a Delta eGift card with the rest going to my Platinum card ($217). It posted today and nowhere do I see “additional collection” and the credit hasn’t hit. It’s showing as “Travel - Airlines” and posted as “Delta Air Lines Delta.com”
I’ll keep you updated, but this might have been killed.
I'm curious when I cancel it for a refund if they’ll issue a new eGift card or if I’ll get get the total $267 refunded to my Platinum...
I bought a refundable flight for $267 and at check out applied a Delta eGift card with the rest going to my Platinum card ($217). It posted today and nowhere do I see “additional collection” and the credit hasn’t hit. It’s showing as “Travel - Airlines” and posted as “Delta Air Lines Delta.com”
I’ll keep you updated, but this might have been killed.
I'm curious when I cancel it for a refund if they’ll issue a new eGift card or if I’ll get get the total $267 refunded to my Platinum...
Jan 18, 2020, 12:23 pm
#221
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 3
My DP, hope this still works for others
1/12: used $50 x 2 gift cards, put remaining amount of $246 on Amex Plat
1/13: $246 posts as Additional Collection
1/15: $200 Amex Airline Fee Reimbursement posted, meter moved
1/12: used $50 x 2 gift cards, put remaining amount of $246 on Amex Plat
1/13: $246 posts as Additional Collection
1/15: $200 Amex Airline Fee Reimbursement posted, meter moved
Jan 18, 2020, 1:59 pm
#222
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 4
Here are my data points:
1/10 - Purchased a $351.20 refundable ticket with $100 GC and remaining $251.20 on Hilton Aspire
1/10 - Upgraded the ticket with a fare difference of $105.20, which was put on the Amex Gold
1/10 - Upgraded the ticket again with a fare difference of $202.80, which was put on the Amex Plat
1/11 - All transactions processed
1/13 - Received full $100/$200 reimbursement for Gold/Plat
Did not receive the reimbursement for the Hilton Aspire because I wasn't paying attention and purchased a ticket over $250 for my initial transaction. I plan on doing a lot of traveling this year so I'm just going to buy a $295 refundable ticket, apply a $50 GC, and use the Aspire again to get the fee reimbursed.
1/10 - Purchased a $351.20 refundable ticket with $100 GC and remaining $251.20 on Hilton Aspire
1/10 - Upgraded the ticket with a fare difference of $105.20, which was put on the Amex Gold
1/10 - Upgraded the ticket again with a fare difference of $202.80, which was put on the Amex Plat
1/11 - All transactions processed
1/13 - Received full $100/$200 reimbursement for Gold/Plat
Did not receive the reimbursement for the Hilton Aspire because I wasn't paying attention and purchased a ticket over $250 for my initial transaction. I plan on doing a lot of traveling this year so I'm just going to buy a $295 refundable ticket, apply a $50 GC, and use the Aspire again to get the fee reimbursed.
Jan 18, 2020, 3:44 pm
#223
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 18,947
Jan 18, 2020, 5:47 pm
#224
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 10
$314 ticket: $50 GC x 2, $214 on Schwab. Purchased 1/12, transaction posts 1/13, $200 credit posts 1/15.
Jan 18, 2020, 8:29 pm
#225
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,959
Moderator action
A dozen posts, discussing valuation of various Platinum Card benefits, have been moved:
USA: New (2017) personal Platinum benefits; Higher annual fee ($550)
USA: New (2017) personal Platinum benefits; Higher annual fee ($550)